Anthony Smith explains why UFC Kansas City is his retirement fight: “It’s final”

Anthony Smith has confirmed his UFC Kansas City fight against Mingyang Zhang will be his final fight.

Smith believes he’s likely already stayed around for too long but knows the time is now to retire, regardless of the result. Even if Smth turns back the clock and has an incredible performance, he says this retirement is for good.

“I probably stuck around too long already, if we’re being honest,” Smith said to MMA Fighting. “Probably since maybe the second [Ryan] Spann fight, I started telling my team and my family and my wife like I’m having a lot of fun, but it’s just taking up a lot of time. It comes down to being a dad and being a husband and kind of just checking into that part of my life. Not that I’m not checked in, I’m super involved with everything that goes on. I almost never miss anything. But it’d be nice to slow that part of it down and not have that part of the responsibility. That’s kind of when it started…

“It got rough. It just started to feel like the ups and downs weren’t worth it anymore. I love the fight part of it,” Smith added. “There’s nothing I enjoy doing more than walking into the octagon and fighting. It’s everything that surrounds it that I’m not as willing to do anymore.”

Anthony Smith says UFC Kansas City is his final fight

Anthony Smith has been a pro fighter since 2008 and he now wants to focus on something else in his life.

Smith says this retirement will stick as he says he doesn’t have what it takes to be all-in on fighting now as he once was.

“It’s final,” Smith said. “It’s really just because it’s not about fighting itself, it’s about everything that surrounds it that I’m just not as willing to do anymore. My kids deserve it. My children deserve not to have this thing all the time and just not have me constantly waiting on the next big thing. Really just checking into them. You have to structure your life a certain way when you live this life and I’m ready to just not do that anymore and ready to just to be as close to a normal human as I possibly can… In terms of fighting for a living, and this being my full-time gig, not anymore. No, I’m done.”

Anthony Smith is 38-21 as a pro and coming off a knockout loss to Dominick Reyes. Smith is on a two-fight losing streak and is 13-11 in the UFC. ‘Lionheart’ is also a one-time UFC title challenger.